Love, Life, and Portals
by J. S. Cazim
Summary: The popular PC game, Portal, introduced in a new way.
1. PART 1

**Love, Life, and Portals**

Today was not like any other day. Something just screamed "abnormality" in her cluttered mind and rattled with an echo of distress and anxiety. Nothing bad, of course, as it involved her job, which was touchy, but compelling all at the same time. She was the envy of her employees. The star of her boss, Lenny Ginningser -tall, fat man in his fifties who wore a white golf shirt and gray tuxedo paints everyday to work- loved her dearly like a daughter. She had almost every field scientist wrapped around her little finger as she was more experienced and mature than most of what her co-workers called "nerds". But she respected their intelligence and responsibility in their projects. In fact, they might be really important to Chell today because a promotion could be walking on thin wire if she doesn't fulfill the right needs from the people in charge. Like Ken Johnson, who always tries to ask her on a date despite his liver-destroying alcohol consumption and his no-desire to even brush what teeth he _actually_ has. But, he is still "in-charge", so she basically has to kiss the guy's feet to finally get somewhere in her job.

She picked up the keys on the glass coffee table so worriedly that she didn't even notice her cat right under her. One step could've broken a fragile leg, but since she was so attached to the tiny kitten tabby, she always made sure she could see the fluffy tail swing around her ankles. Originally, she never even thought of buying the animal in the first place, but a heart to deep as hers was just so open to the idea of having a pet in her house (that she worked so hard to pay for even though a salary like hers should make a girl quite comfortable, but money always seemed to be in short).He's grown up to be a pretty healthy 8-month kitten, which made her happy although she never thought she would have time to spend with him. His laziness makes it no problem, and good for him to take care of the house since he's the only male in her life right now. Frankly, she doesn't even want to talk to another person at her lab because, really, most people there are clones of "Ken", so no good could come out of a relationship with any of them. She doesn't need them. All she needs is a normal life with no commitments and live her years with her little Tubby (whom she named so fittingly after his chubby build and tendency to binge off of his food and a variety of dinner scraps).

Getting into the car was easy. Driving was unthinkable, yet irreversible at this point. Everything depends on how she plays out her day today. One wrong move could get her fired. One right move could consider her for a job as an engineer (nothing at Aperture was every really as good as anyone expected). As long as nobody got in her way, the position was practically hers.

After one full hour of painstaking turns and quick bursts of the brake, Chell was in the parking lot of somewhere so familiar to her after almost six years of service. She was ready for anything to come her way. The seatbelt un-buckled with a clack of a button. The coffee bounced off the steering wheel, nearly spilling all over her white loafers, as she swung it out of the car just as she jumped right out of the seat. The door banged sharply against the exterior of the driver's seat. The patter of her shoes on the worn pavement made a rhythmic tone that gave a spark to what little confidence she had. And, finally, the opening of the sliding glass leading down the hall to her office made a whooshing noise that she interpreted as "Good luck… if you have any". When something as big as she is getting into can lead many soaring through a world of insecurities and bottomless doubts. And, now, those doubts were seeping in as she walked on the broken tiles and through the stained walls.

"Hi, Dad," She said, with a heart beating fast, "I have your research on 'Nuclear Abnormalities and Radium Oxides' ready to be used for the experiment you said you had in mind." Each word she completed was accented with a shallow breath, even though it was practically leaving her with no knowledge of what she meant.

"Ummmm, thanks, Honey. I really… uh… appreciate it." He seemed to be writing a portfolio of some sort, not paying attention to her at all. She quick glanced at his paper only to see a title: Aperture Laboratories Portal Technology (beta). He peered up through the corner of his eyes to see her stretching over him to get a better look.

"I'm sorry, sweetheart, but this is really confidential at the moment because… this is something I have been working on for only a few moths now and I think it will really take off if I can somehow find a way to do some more testing on it before anything gets released." His exclusion only heightened her curiosity. She knew that if she pulled some strings, she could get the information she needed from some people she knew who worshipped her father. Being as old as he is, many look up to him for help when something too beyond them becomes a full-fledged project. Sadly, she was always jealous of her father's responsibility because no one ever asked her for her assistance or even a small opinion. But, if she got her hands on what he was working on, she could focus on finishing a project that she had worked on for eternity.

She plopped down on the squeaky chair and pressed the "on" button on her computer. A quick punch in her password with clammy hands and shaky arms and opened up a file she was working on (which she felt had a better future than her father's little "craft" that no one would ever lay eyes on). She typed fast and diligently. The words seemed to flow. She already knew so much about the topic that it became second nature to her. After two hours of drowning out her surroundings, she titled the paper "An Applicable Theory For the Gravitational Reactions Caused by Atoms Colliding in the Process to Fission Disturbance" and clicked save with sure finality. She sat back gently in her chair and took a small sip from her now lukewarm brew. She closed her eyes and dreamed of being in a new office with better-looking co-workers and less dangerous equipment and furniture. This lasted for seconds until it was smashed away by the crooked voice of George. Pallings. He ran over to her just as she dosed off and bumped into her computer, almost knocking it right on her. He didn't care. He seemed to have something important to say to her since he yelled "Wake up, Chell!" right at her face and kicked her in the ankle (which he later said was somehow an "accident unable to be forgiven", if that made sense to her) . She did wake up, and she almost swatted him right in the right on the cheek, but figured it would only destroy his life-less feelings and make the promotion farther in reach for her. She smiled faintly and looked at his eyes. Eyes that were gawking over _her_ eyes. His breath was disgusting and kept entering her nostrils every time he gasped for breath (gasping is the best you can do when you have chronic congestion-yes, _chronic_, meaning in two hours, he'll magically filter the air threw his nasal passages without dying). She pushed him away from her quickly and sat up , rubbing her eyes and taking another sip from her cup. Noticing her blunt rudeness to him, she tapped the cup down and smiled to him, beginning a stationary conversation, "So, uh, George, what do you need?"

"Well, C, I figured I would show something that me and a few other people are currently working on. It's kinda sudden, I know, but with nothing new happening around here I have been lately bored and confused over what to really do. It's basic, but it's something we have never touched before. It's a new AI. I saw you, uh, _napping_ over here and took the chance to ask you if you would like to check it out. In fact, we're almost done with it! " He stopped to compose himself and allow Chell time to digest what he said. Oh, she sure had something, but it wasn't anything he expected.

"First off, don't call me "C". Second, are you even permitted to be discussing this with those who aren't involved in this "AI". Third, why would you ask me in the first place?" She felt rude. And cranky. But, she was pleased when she looked up at him. Instead of anger, he seemed amused.

"Sorry, C- I mean… Chell, right? I just figured someone like you would be interested in something like that. I mean, you're a lot smarter than half the people here, so I knew you would understand. Plus, many of those people are higher than you, which says something. I hear you're eyein' a promo, huh? Good. You should get it. You definitely deserve it." He politely smirked. Chell, on the other hand, was blushing in a pool of pink and blue. The cold from the room mixed with the embarrassment was ambiguous to him. He didn't know if she would blow up again or show sincerity. But, she built up the courage to finally make a smile herself.

"Sure. Why not?." Those words came out rushed and unexpected. But, she knew they were worthy of being brought to life. Going with George would give her a chance to schmooze with a few of the executives up at the Chemical wing (and Lenny, if he was supervising there), which was where she belonged. Plus, she would be able to put her contribution into this "AI" and would be able to show her father what he could expect from her.

He made a stop at a small intersection near the lunch-room. He went in and came back with a powdered doughnut. She turned away when he offered. Then, the two walked down a few more halls until they came to door painted completely white with Aperture's infamous cyclonic blue logo. He punched in random keys and numbers and hit the "*" key and the "9" key at the same time. A click followed by a buzz unsecured the lock and with a quick turn, the door moved open with a gentle nudge.

"Well, here we are," he said, and motioned his hand toward a long desk with three computer piled next to each other separated by various coffee mugs, pencils, and pictures of over-happy kids. She walked through the frame and twisted her head around in all directions just to get a better look at the place. Her infatuation made George uncomfortable. He tapped her on the shoulder and made a short sigh while spitting out a fake grin. She got the idea fast, and made no hesitation to apologize.

"I'm really sorry. I just think your office is so… well… cool." He laughed and dropped his head to the floor.

"Well, thanks, Chell, but right now this isn't what I was meaning to show you. We have to move quickly to the testing room before anyone sees you up here." He pushed her towards another doorway and, again, repeated the complex process of unlocking it. He lead her down another two more hallways, but the last seemed more interesting than the other five thousand they treaded on. This was tunneled by glass segments set in fog and wires and metal bridges leading to higher levels of the underground building. Chell felt amazement overcome her again, but, this time, she snapped back and thought about keeping a serious composition for the rest of the day to prevent any unwanted impressions. The two reach another door; this one had a circular shape and was free of annoying keypads set for securing it. Chell decided to take this matter into her hands, so she punched the one red button etched with the Aperture logo in it and waited for the door to open. And when it did, it revealed a world of high-tech monitors, people in starched lab coats, and, the jewel of the scene, one monster of a machine, hanging gracefully from web-like wires and cloaked with identical spiral staircases reaching six-feet off the ground.


	2. PART 2

"Her name's GLaDOS." George interrupted, "She's our newest AI, well, excluding the turrets we built a few moths ago." Chell remembered those clearly. They were a new invention by Aperture. Something the world had never heard of. She remembered working on some of the prototypes. But one thing she could never wrap her mind around was the fact that they had automated guns placed inside of them. She figured the military would need them. Sadly, they never did. The design of them was too "bug-like" and "plastic". It didn't matter. What mattered to her was GLaDOS, which, to her, sounded more like a chance than a strange acronym.

"I see. What does the name stand for?" She uttered to bring herself back to the moment.

"Genetic Lifeform and Disk Operating System." He fell back on his heels, (punctuated by a roll of her eyes at the fact that he was so full-of-himself). For her, she only saw how these men could be so willing to take on the most difficult of tasks and, when they complete them, feel like they're on top of the world and anything is there's. That was something that really annoyed her. She wanted someone who was humble and accepting of a mistake here or there. At least she knows Tubby would never try to prove himself in such a way.

"Well, feel free to take a look around. I think I'm gonna go check on how things are going with GLaDOS and see if she's being handled okay." He ran over to the little steps and climbed them, one-by-one. Chell started counting how many he got up to. When she reached eleven, she noticed he was already perched on the top platform. The spiraling affect made him look like he was in the brain of a spaceship set sail for uncharted territory. Even GLaDOS seemed to be prepared for a ride to the stars.

He peered back at her behind his shoulder. She only smiled. She wanted to say something smart. Something that would get her a new job. That wouldn't happen. Her probably hated her. She always wanted to leave Aperture since the day she first started. It was boring and pointless to her. Now, it's messy and caught in a surreal world filled with cables that lead to robots with guns. A world she had no desire to live in.

He smiled back, and at that moment, she cooked up the bright idea to head towards him.

Being an employee at Aperture was hazardous. Being clumsy while working at Aperture was even worse. She was both With knives on counters and gas pipes spread across the walls, anything could kill you. Walking seems fairly simple and safe, unless you shoes are worn down. Which, sadly, hers were. Inevitable. It was just so inevitable that something would happen. And it did. With one step down, then two, and three, everything was working out perfectly. The shoes weren't working out at all. Elaborately, one began to bend in the area of the soft flesh below the toes and twisted an ankle. Her total base on standing failed and sent her plummeting., smacking her face against the blue and dropping it like an anvil. She heard footsteps run toward her and a muffled thump near her ear. She guessed it was someone kneeling down to check on her. It was George.

Consciousness was losing its grip on her. Luckily, very time she would find herself falling asleep, a quick blink would keep things regular and going. Voices made her cringe with pain as everyone began yelling to the others to get help. She then felt a nudge on her shoulder.

"Chell? Chell? Chellllllll?" George sounded upset, "Chell! C'mon, just wake up and say you're okay."

She pushed his arm off of her. Everyone stepped back. She pushed off the floor with her hands, then grabbed someone from group surrounding her. She looked at everyone's faces. They looked mixed and blurry. She ran through the way of humans, knocking one young intern into some storage boxes. A chair awaited her just four feet away. She slowed down, and, with a burst of energy, feel into it, almost risking the chance of breaking a bone in the process. Everyone ran to her (again) and made the same formation they did seconds ago. George cleared his throat.

"Alright everyone, this is no scene to make a matter out of. Please go back to your stations." His call was like a switch in a robot. It made everyone scatter like squirrels to different areas of the lab. They all looked back at her him as they turned around to pick up their tools. George, while in a daze at his newly-found power, brought his attention back to the battered Chell.

"Is it bad?" He said with the sweetest affection, almost like it came from his heart.

"Not really. I just have a bump. That's all." She brushed her finger against her forehead, "But, wow. That fall seemed to come out of nowhere. I'm in so much pain yet so much humiliation." She laughed at how well she could joke about something so dumb that _she _did.

"Yeah. I guess there is some humiliation in there, huh?" He stopped. He was looking at the ground, mouth-open, and making an awkward cough, she took the hint that he was deep in shock.

"Well, the bump and the pain don't stay for long, so there's really nothing I should worry about." She laughed again, and, this time, George looked up from his dead stare.

"Yep. Something you can look forward to!" They both giggled at the small comment. Neither of them really felt like it. But, when there eyes met a second time, they unknowingly linked their algorithm-stuffed minds.

"Mr. Frosh! We need you here immediately." George stopped. Literally. Frozen, he knew that he had a lot on his hands. He always did. He picked himself up and, then Chell, and walked over to the assistants near GLaDOS's core.

The men talked forever. Chell found herself being immersed in a frigid lake of boredom. She looked around at the lab. The whole place seemed so seamed together and filled with wires. She imagined all of the wires spinning like swings on top of the ceiling and catching things that get in their way. They would seem bone-less as they flew around like rag dolls and were thrown against the walls. Her thought broke when she thought of one of those unlucky souls being George. How could he be the one she wanted? Why did she seem to love him so much? Maybe she's desperate? But, she knew she didn't love him. She only cared for him. _Caring_ seemed so comforting to her. Maybe she wasn't ready for him? Maybe she isn't ready for anybody…

Sparks rocketed out of GLaDOS's main electrical box. Chell looked up and saw more and more fly all over the place, missing many of the workers. She sat up and tried to run over to them. George came to her side.

"We have a REALLY, big problem with her right now," he glanced at the now-malfunctioning GLaDOS and ducked at stray electricity jolts, "Just… just stay back… we have a minor bug to tweak out here and I don't want you getting hurt." He ran back up the stairs and tried to find the power button. He nervously stopped her from rotating now and then, but her strength always over came him. "She" continually grew in energy and began to knock out almost everyone near her. Chell watched in horror as people dodged debris all while making the best effort to escape her grips. She spun faster and faster. Nobody near it was moving. Everyone else moved as far away as possible. But one was brave enough to stay so close.

It was George. The wind made his hair rip back to his neck. He anchored himself as best as he could. Chell was scared to death. She knew if he got any less distance to her, he would probably end up like the people around him. Only dead. But, by the fighting look on his face, he seemed determined to save more lives, and not just his own. He kept pulling and pulling through just to get a few feet away from it. Reaching to that point was enough. And, now, he was close.

Chell, having lost all hope in the situation, noticed something small in a far corner of the room. It seemed to be purple. It faintly had the shape of a sphere (she could barely see anything behind the rubble) and looked to have another circle inside of it. Possibly an eye? She didn't know. But, she had a good idea that thing was part of something in this room. Something that would serve an important source of mechanism in a type of device. Right now, GLaDOS was the only device here. Chell knew it gave her a system of support for her hard drive. This was something she was not very sure with. But one thing she was was the opening on the dorsal of GLaDOS's main body. This was something George should handle. With what might she had, she yelled to him.

"George! Get that thing!" She knew how stupid she felt. _Thing _wasn't going to save lives. _Thing_ wouldn't end this madness. But, if she pointed, she knew he would know what to do at that moment. Sadly, her words never reached him.

"What?" He screamed.

"GET THE PURPLE BALL!" She yelled, even louder than before.

"WHAT THING?" He couldn't even hear himself.

"THE PUR-PLE THING!" Her voice cracked and got higher, and her throat felt on fire. She gave up on verbally telling him. The only thing left to do was get it herself. And she did.

She ran over to him, "You have to get that purple ball over there!" Everything seemed to be still as the two conversed, even when she was simply repeating herself, "It could be really important."

He looked back at her, "It is. That's one of her cores." He smiled brightly and pushed out a chuckle, "See, GLaDOS has four spheres that make up her personality, feelings, emotions, decisions, and generally how she works. There are four of them: Knowledge, Anger, Morality, and Curiosity. That "purple one" is her morality core. That's what's creating this mess. I'm gonna try to get over to it as fast as possible. You have to stay back. Who knows what she might do next?". She was blown away about how he could be so jocular while a _robot _was trying to kill people.

He turned away. He looked at the machine, and, when he felt the time was right, started to climb through as fast as could. He jumped over metal shrapnel and and bodies and made his way through loose wires. He avoided any live ones he could spot. Eventually, he had only inches to go to get the sphere. During the moment he was about to grab it, a roar boomed across the lab. It sounded wild. But, it wasn't an animal. In fact, it sounded like the noise of a generator booting up. Everyone became quiet, wondering if this was what fate sounded like. It started to get louder and louder. The sound soon became so piercing that everybody winced and wondered curiously what it could be. Then, it stopped. Everything was quiet for five seconds. George, frozen in mid-step, continued moving closer to the sphere. He got close enough to the sphere, and, when he went to pick it up, he noticed GLaDOS had something directed at him. It seemed like a gun. He remember that it WAS a gun. A vaporizer. Something not touched in the world of science. But, his team figured it could be of use in some extreme instances. Like universal missions and galactic planet visits (which they thought was practically impossible, but were the only things that would work for it). This "gun" would also be what killed on George on this day.

As he tried to run from his beloved creation, she breathed her most poweful fire at him. He was yanked into the air, by a blue ray, and divided into millions of tiny pieces. Every atom of him seemed to be terminated into nothing. The worst death any human could endure: being devoured by powerful lasers with no remnants. And HE was the one who experienced it. Chell stood feet away. She couldn't breath or move. She was lost in nothing but pure sadness. It wasn't just George that mattered to her. So many people were still alive. GLaDOS could've picked any one of them to drop. But George was her main concern. She wanted all of this control. She wanted him. Only him. She had so much hatred in her. Chell had even more towards this beast.

It was time to kill a killer. Running was no use. She could only walk as quietly as she could to not bring any unwanted attention to her. Only so far to go until she could shut off the switch on GLaDOS's back (she knew from many movies that that's where you will _always find it). Then, out of thin air (or absolutely nothing), a wire pipe whistled though the air and swung her head like a ball just as she saw it coming. She drifted back into unconsciousness (just as she had before, but with a little more dignity) and plopped to the floor. Before drifting off into sleep, she heard faint screams and jogging footsteps all around her._


	3. PART 3

When she woke up, she saw two glass doors burst open apart from each other. Above them was a light embedded into the ceiling. She soon realized that she was in a pod-shaped bed. For her, this seemed like a dream. But, everything was so real. When she sat up, she saw a room so blank and white and lifeless. At the end of the bed was a toilet and, next to that, was a round end table that had a clipboard, a cup, and a radio humming a strange latin-like tune on top of it. Chell, still shocked, thought that this room wasn't something from a dream. It was a jail. Well, at least that's what she thought. It was boring and plain like a jail.

A voice boomed through an intercom. It was fake yet real at the same time. Was it human? Was it artificial? Chell couldn't decide. She knew of nothing of this part of the building she was in. She DID know that Aperture had test chambers for some of their experiments. But, they seemed to complex to take note of. She thought about how she could get out them. The voice spoke up. It's words were muffled and fuzzy, but Chell could hear every word, "Hello, and, again, welcome to the Aperature Science Computerated Enrichment Center." Again? She'd never been here before. It was then she knew who the voice belonged to.

Why? Why on EARTH, would GLaDOS be hear speaking to her? She never even HEARD GLaDOS speak. And, how could she be talking and seeing her right there in this God-forsaken room in this God-forsaken Laboratorty. Now, Chell knew it was impossible to get out. GLaDOS would kill her the minute she did.

The "voice" started speaking some more words. Reality left Chell behind. She heard nothing and nearly saw nothing. She thought of how this could happen to her. She knew she got knocked out, but who put her in here? She looked around for any doors that lead out of here. There was one heavenly seated right next to her bed. It wasn't like an other door in the building, though. It had no opening. All it contained was two frames place parallel from each other on each sides of this "door". Above it was a timer descending from sixty seconds. These frames were made of the shiniest metal Chell had ever seen. In fact, she could look at herself just from where the toilet was (which she swore she would never use). She walked closer to one of them and looked closely. She noticed she had a different outfit then what she had on before. Everything she wore was replace with a orange bodysuit. The sleeves and pant legs were cuffed up to the elbows and knees. Her long matted hair was braided tightly in a bun behind her head. Some of her eye liner and mascara was also wiped clean from her face. Her clean, white shoes were also savaged. In their spot were too bendable hooks that wrapped firmly around her calves. She couldn't get what the point of those were, but another thing she wondered was 'Who dressed me?'. Maybe it was GLaDOS? She figured not. How can hardware like her do something like that? She DID kill George. Her capabilities were frightening . The voice returned, but Chell hadn't taken note of where it left off.

"The portal will open in 3-2-1." Portal? What is she talking about? Chell remembered _exactly what it was she was talking about. Her father was studying "Fission Disturbance" because he was planning on making it something bigger than what it was on its own. Going back to her college days, she could remember that doing something to those atoms could create a big enough force to collide into themselves and spawn other atoms mixed from the source atoms. Those pieces of matter could make something of a whole that can transport objects to different (or similar) dimensions. _

_It was a new verse to the song. With the birth of a revelation, Chell felt some weight being picked off of her. Maybe she could look more into these "portals" if she manages to get out of here and into the halls surrounding her. In front of her, a zipping noise chirped, succeeded by a sharp boom. A small blue oval appeared and quickly enlarged into a bigger one that she could fit in. Inside of it was another room. _

_Her knees felt dead. What's going to happen to her outside of here? Will she manage to get out? Will somebody be waiting for her? Will she die? She had nothing else to do at that moment. So she walked through, not knowing what might be hiding inside._

_End_


End file.
